Sheet-stretcher



W. S. JENKINS.

SHEET STREICHER.

APPLICATION FILED }ULY3.1919.

Patented Dec. 23, 191$).

w INVENTOH may A BY I km M A TTOR/VEYS UNITED .STATESPATENT OFFICE.

.WALTER S. JENKINS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO COLGATE 8 00., CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SHEET-STRETCHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

Application filed July 3, 1919. Serial No. 308,682.

5 Kings, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Stretchers, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to a collapsible frame for flexible sheets and the like and has as its principal object the provision of a device of the class mentioned which is capable of adjustment to expand a sheet and of being collapsed again with a minimum of time and effort.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device capable of performing my first object which'is of maximum simplicity and cheapness. 2Q The novel features of my lnvention are pointed out in the appended claims. The

invention itself, however, together with further objects and advantages, will best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sheet having my invention associated therewith, the whole being rolled as for mailing;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view, partly broken away, of the article shown in Fig. 1, the parts being arranged to hold the sheet expanded;

Fig. 3 is a detail view of a portion of Fig. 2 on an enlarged scale, and

' Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig.3.

' longer t an the Referring tothe drawing more in dejzfail,

1 and 2 are rods attached to parallel e ges of a sheet 3' which it is desired to stretch open at times and to fold at others. ,4 designates a brace or rod for use in spreading apart rods 1 and 2 and maintaining them in such position to keep the," sheet 3 in' stretched condition so long as desired. For this pu ose, I make the rod 4 somewhat erpendicular distance between rods 1 and 2 and the three rods are designed to so fit to ether that rod 4 can be wedged between the other two and will be held in fixed position relative thereto, as

faces, portions of said surfaces being left intact at the sides of said recesses, as shown in Fig. 4. Rod 4 hasreduced ends 6 designed to be inserted into said slots 5 and to be guided therein, said rod 4 having also shoulders, such as 7 formed at the points of junction between the reduced ends 6 and the body of rod 4. When the sheet 3 is expanded, shoulders 7 are wedged against the opposed faces of the rods 1 and 2 at the sides of recesses 5 and held there preferably by frictional engagement, the shoulders 7 being preferably arcuate as shown to facilitate rod 4 being wedged into place. The reduced ends 6 serve to-prevent the rods from slipping out of they same plane when in wedging engagement and also promote the convenience of the user when adjusting them to such position.

It will be seen that my device comprises a minimum of parts and consequently can be rolled into a very compact and convenient bundle for mailing.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 4

1. The combination with a sheet to be stretched, of a pair of rods attached thereto in parallel relation, said rods having portions of reduced cross-section; and a third rod having end portions of reduced crosssection cooperating with said reduced portions of said parallel'rods, said third rod having also wedging surfaces thereon at the points of junction between said reduced end portions and the body of the third rod, said wedging surfaces being spaced apart a distance somewhat greater than the normal distance between the opposed surfaces of said pair of parallel rods when the sheet is stretched, whereby said wedging surfaces may be wedged against said parallel rods in the regions of reduced cross-section.

2. The combination with a sheet to be stretched of a pair rods attached thereto in parallel relation, said rods having opposed parallel surfaces and having opposed recesses opening from said surfaces, and a third rod having reduced ends for entering said recesses and having shoulders at the points of junction between said reduced ends and the body of said rod, said shoulders being spaced apart a distance somewhat greater than the normal distance between said opposed parallel faces when the sheet is stretched, whereby said shoul- 10 ders may be wedged against said faces at the sides of said recesses.

WALTER S. JENKINS. 

